Should law students blog about work?
VC relayed Ambivalent Imbroglio's concerns regarding blogging about his summer job. This brings up a host of separate issues regarding attorney-client privilege and maintaining employer confidences that our infamous Dutch law grad need not have contemplated even with his misdirected missive.
It is quite a bit vague, since even professional journalists get called on the carpet for how they obtained information that should not have been publicly disclosed. IMHO, professional blogging is NOT the same as academic or student blogging. The greater the risk of harm (to your career, your clients, and your employer), the greater amount of caution you should use. To satisfy most risk-averse employers, that means no blog, no matter how well worded your posts nor how well-guarded your pseudonym may be.
I have two rules:
Don't use pseudonyms. If you have a relatively difficult name (like mine), make it available with your blog name so (a) people don't think you're trying to hide something, and (b) you don't get lulled into a false sense of security (that your random thoughts posted in a public forum could never be attributed back to you).
Know why you're blogging. Do you really have a meaningful contribution on the subject or are you blogging to let people know what you've been learning? Are you marketing yourself to future clients and employers or are you just trying to keep in touch with friends and family? If you're blogging your personal diary for the whole world to see, what do you think future clients will expect of your ability to keep their life secrets under wraps?
[UPDATE] 20050901 Prof Leiter @ UT Law posted this useful message from "a top law school." Thanks to Prof Loren for pointing it out![/UPDATE]
I guess for now the rule I'll be following when I start my job next week is that if I were a reporter on the criminal beat and I could have learned something in that capacity, then it's bloggable. That's still a little vague, but it seems like a good rule of thumb to follow for now.
It is quite a bit vague, since even professional journalists get called on the carpet for how they obtained information that should not have been publicly disclosed. IMHO, professional blogging is NOT the same as academic or student blogging. The greater the risk of harm (to your career, your clients, and your employer), the greater amount of caution you should use. To satisfy most risk-averse employers, that means no blog, no matter how well worded your posts nor how well-guarded your pseudonym may be.
I have two rules:
[UPDATE] 20050901 Prof Leiter @ UT Law posted this useful message from "a top law school." Thanks to Prof Loren for pointing it out![/UPDATE]
posted by Nivine K. Zakhari at
15:59
(data provided from NewsGator Online)
1 Comments:
I find it difficult to resist "calling out" employers who refused to interview me.
That is why I my number one rule, which trumps all other rules, is "Don't Drink and Blog."
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Anonymous, at Thu May 12, 03:40:00 PM EDT
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